As a woman myself, I’m of the opinion that female artists often don’t get as much recognition as they deserve. To try and remedy this, I’ve started a new series based around artists and bands with female musicians. All the artists here are from different genres, so you should be able to find something you like, whatever you’re into!
Review by Jane Howkins
Photo from Sarah Rose
Sarah Rose – Boys Don’t Cry
Boys Don’t Cry kicks this list off nicely, created by singer-songwriter and musician Sarah Rose. Sarah’s music is probably best described as pop-rock, although it also has elements of folk, country and Americana hidden away within it. There’s certainly a lot of passion contained within Boys Don’t Cry – particularly with how emotive Sarah’s vocals are here. The instrumentation is quite nice too, but the vocals are the real focal point here, as Sarah belts them out over the music. If that sounds good, then you can check it out below!
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Ellie Burke – Filtered Reality
Ellie Burke is an indie artist from Liverpool, adding her lovely new track, Filtered Reality, to this list. The track starts out slowly, with some faint synths in the background playing underneath Ellie’s vocals, before some killer electronic drums kick in. It’s a fairly subtle sounding track at the start, but when the first chorus arrives, the pacing soon increases. The chorus is really catchy, yet the more ethereal sounding verses make the track sound rather unique, especially when compared to most of the other indie-pop stuff on the scene at the moment.
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Abigail Fierce – Daphne
Singer-songwriter and musician Abigail Fierce is set to charm the world with her new release, Daphne. The track starts out loudly, before slowing down a little on the first verse. The guitars kick back in straight away on the chorus, making this more of a rock song than anything else. The chorus is infectiously catchy, seeing Abigail use her vocals perfectly here. It’s an extremely well-crafted song, showing just how amazing Abigail’s songwriting skills are – I guarantee you won’t be able to listen to this once!
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Samantha LaPorta – Lies Are Your Truth
I’ve been getting into the dream-pop genre a lot recently, and Samantha LaPorta’s track certainly has the ethereal sound the style has! Lies Are Your Truth also contains elements of a few different rock genres, sounding incredibly expansive throughout! There’s a lot going on here, with multiple guitar and synths layers dancing around in the background, so make sure you listen to it a few times over to appreciate everything! And who can forget Samantha’s amazing vocals, simply soaring through the music!
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Mira Sthira – The Woods (Shandor Remix)
Up next is Maine-based alt-pop artist Mira Sthira, with her gorgeous new tune, The Woods (Shandor Remix). As the name suggests, this is a remix, but it makes for fantastic listening nonetheless! The steady beat makes the song sound catchy from the start, as Mira’s unique vocal stylings sing against it. The bass has a lovely quality, pulsating along stylistically next to the drums. The track breaks down a little before the chorus kicks in, raising the music even higher, pushing the listener into an elative state. This is one for all you popheads!
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Annette Gregory – Thinking
Annette Gregory adds something a little different to this list with her track, Thinking. It’s a jazz song of sorts, starting out slowly and subtly with some pretty piano chords. Annette has a very soulful singing voice, providing a nice accompaniment to the piano, which is the only instrumentation on Thinking. However, it doesn’t need anything else, as it’s beautiful as it is. There’s a raw quality to the music that allows Annette’s soulful vocals to stand out, enabling the listener to feel every emotion she places in there. One thing’s for sure – it’s stunningly beautiful.
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Tara MacLean – That’s Me
Taking things in a more folky direction is Tara MacLean with her fabulous new tune, That’s Me. It’s certainly folky, but in a more modern way, featuring some gorgeous guitar work in the background. The bass is rather prominent for a song of this genre, aligning well with the percussion to create a lovely rhythm section. The strings add some lovely textures to the track, especially when they’re combined with Tara’s full vocal range, which simply soars over the rest of the music. It’s a pretty tune and one you should check out now!
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Jenny Lascelles – Strange Weather
It’s nice to be able to share some homegrown talent here, with our next track coming from Newcastle native Jenny Lascelles. Jenny has produced something glorious on Strange Weather – the vocal harmonies are particularly stunning, sounding like an angelic choir at times. The bass and beat are entirely electronic, adding a distinctive sound to the music. It’s a bit experimental, so it won’t be for everyone, but take the time to listen and you should enjoy it. The vocals and strings are amazing, and the main chord sequence chosen really works wonders!
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Samantha Gibb – Tongue-Tied
Last, but most certainly not least is Samantha Gibb and her catchy tune, Tongue-Tied. It’s nice to have something a little more upbeat to round things off, which this track definitely is! The percussion used is really unique – it sounds quite busy, but it works well with the themes and instrumentation. The rest of the music comes mainly from a funky bassline and some synthy chords played in the background, creating something that sounds really cool, especially when it’s underpinned by Samantha’s vocals! Find the track below!
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Female Voices – playlist by York Calling | Spotify